This Grade 2 Mares’ Hurdle has become very interesting since entries were open as Grade 1 juvenile hurdle winning mare Kargese makes her seasonal reappearance here on the back of attracting a lot of support for the Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Will she be forward enough to win, or will her keenness get the better of her?
Let’s find out as I give you the BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle runner By runner betting guide.
Grade 2 BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle runners
Now it’s time to take an in-depth look into runners of the Grade 2 BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle and the best horse racing bookmakers to help you make a winning bet.
2 Kargese
- Age: 5
- Weight: 11st 5lb
- Form: 2122-1
- Rating: 141
- Jockey: Paul Townend
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Odds: 8/13
When Willie Mullins sends a runner over the UK, it sends shivers down the spine of his UK rivals.
Willie used this race for Vroom Vroom Mag back in 2016 before she went on to win the Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, and he will look to repeat the same feat with Kargese.
With the high possibility that Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead will run in the Champion Hurdle, this leaves the door wide open for Kargese to set down a marker to make her the one to beat in the Mares Hurdle in March.
She ran in four Grade 1 juvenile hurdles last season, winning two of them.
Her two defeats came at the hands of Majborough and Sir Gino, who now sit as the top two in the betting for the Arkle Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Willie Mullins has treated her similarly to what he did with Lossiemouth last season, giving her plenty of time to recover from her juvenile campaign and give her one run before the Festival.
Given that treatment and the level of her ability, it’s easy to see her following the same path after today.
Considering her opposition and how you think they would run if they lined up against Majborough and Sir Gino (Take No Chances 16 lengths behind at Newcastle), it is fair to say that you would find it hard to see them sighted in behind.
Considering everything, it would be a massive disappointment if she couldn’t take care of her opposition here.
Only found Sir Gino and Majborough too good in Grade 1s High-class juvenile hurdler
Can over race
Star rating: 
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1 Take No Chances
- Age: 7
- Weight: 11st 6lb
- Form: 143153
- Rating: 139
- Jockey: Kielan Woods
- Trainer: Dan Skelton
- Odds: 9/2
Having been operating at a steady level coming into this season, Take No Chances has taken her form to the next level.
After a satisfactory return at Chepstow, she beat Royal Eagle by ten lengths in a Listed event at Wetherby, followed by a fifth behind Sir Gino in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, running as well as expected.
She then put up a career-best off-top weight in the BetMGM Mares Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham’s December meeting, finding Joyeues and the unbeaten Wodhooh too good in the end.
That run puts her in pole position to follow Kargese home, but at the prices, I’ll be looking elsewhere for the better each-way value.
Has improved this season Big run off top weight last time out
Stable form is a worry
Star rating:
Bet on Take No Chances with Sky Bet
3 Casa No Mento
- Age: 7
- Weight: 11st 4lb
- Form: 21-1P4
- Rating: 138
- Jockey: Sam Twiston-Davies
- Trainer: Nigel Twiston-Davies
- Odds: 10/1
You can excuse Casa No Mento’s first run of the season when she was sent off the 7/4 favourite in a listed hurdle over two miles at Kempton. She made a bad mistake at the first and could never recover her confidence after that.
Her attention was turned to chasing after Kempton but jumping right throughout prevented her from getting seriously involved.
If you can find it to forgive her for those two runs, then she has a serious chance of playing a role here.
Before this season, she was four from five over hurdles and finished second, just beaten over two lengths by Queens Gamble.
She wouldn’t be the first Twoston-Davies horse to come back to form out of nowhere, and she does have enough back class to suggest that she will not be in the doldrums for long.
At her price, she looks fair value against Kargese.
Has only finished outside of the top two ones over hurdles
Needs to leave two below-par runs behind her
Star rating:
Bet on Casa No Mento with Paddy Power
7 Ooh Betty
- Age: 7
- Weight: 11st 2lb
- Form: 32-101
- Rating: 132
- Jockey: Ben Jones
- Trainer: Ben Clarke
- Odds: 12/1
On the back of a clear career best, Ooh Betty may have more to give this season.
She has shown consistency in the past, winning five of 17 runs under rules and placing in eight more.
Given that Kargese lines up, this does require another jolt of improvement, but if she can keep on the upward curve, she is entitled to fight it out for minor honours.
Comes here on the back of a career-best performance
Well beaten at Grade 3 level this season
Star rating:
5 All The Glory
- Age: 8
- Weight: 11st 2lb
- Form: F56911
- Rating: 135
- Jockey: Jonjo O’Neill Jr
- Trainer: Jonjo O’Neill & A J O’Neill
- Odds: 14/1
The phrase ‘an in-from mare is a dangerous mare’ comes to mind with All The Glory.
She has put two effortless wins together in mares handicaps and now takes the step up to Listed level, but without Benjamin Macey’s ten-pound claim, she may find this too much.
But, if they set off at a fast pace, she will be set up to finish well up the home straight.
She’s the dark horse in the field.
Two nice wins in handicaps
Does not have Benjamin Macey’s claim
Star rating:
Bet on All The Glory with talkSPORT BET
4 Pawapuri
- Age: 6
- Weight: 11st 4lb
- Form: 116-3P
- Rating: 126
- Jockey: Nico de Boinville
- Trainer: Nicky Henderson
- Odds: 28/1
Having once threatened to have the capabilities to become a decent hurdler with back-to-back wins in 2023, Pawapuri has since come off the boil and looks way off it this season to be considered for this race.
It’s best to look elsewhere.
On recent evidence, there are no positives
Has been running no sort of races lately
Star rating:
6 Brendas Asking
- Age: 7
- Weight: 11st 2lb
- Form: 2-P132
- Rating: 110
- Jockey: Jonathan Burke
- Trainer: Kim Baily & Mat Nicholls
- Odds: 80/1
Brendas Asking has snippets of form that should see her not disgrace herself here. But she needs to climb a mountain to be anywhere near the leading players.
Out of her depth
Star rating:
Bet on Brendas Asking with Paddy Power
Grade 2 BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle verdict
When you have an odds-on favourite for a Graded race on their seasonal return, I usually look for something to take the favourite on with. But on this occasion, KARGESE looks head and shoulders ahead of her opposition here.
This Grade 1 winning mare looks set for a big season and can kick it off with a winning return.
Current Betting: Kargese 8/13, Take No Chances 9/2, Casa No Mento 10/1, Ohh Betty 12/1, All The Glory 14/1, Pawapuri 28/1, Brendas Asking 80/1.
About the author
Andrew Halligan
My name is Andrew Halligan, horse racing pundit and founder of YouTube’s The Finishing Line Podcast. Horse racing is a thrilling spectacle that captivates audiences around the world with its blend of drama and excitement. Whether you’re a jumps or flat fan, I will use my experience of working within the horse racing industry to bring the best of what this sport has to offer.
You can follow Andrew on X (@Halligan88).
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